Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Borough Market – a slice of London’s History, Heritage and FOOD!

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If ever there was a memory I revisit connected to food, browsing, new experiences, and feeling that I LIVED and loved life to the fullest it is this Friday in July when I visited Borough for the first time ever…

Coming from India and have spent most of my life in Bombay I am no stranger to massive open food bazaars, haggling to get one free lemon or a bunch of coriander and feeling triumphant that I could get HAPOOS AAMBE – the king of fruits Alphonso Mangoes at a few rupees lower than the previous customer ….old memories of accompanying my mother as a child to the market every other day and helping her carry home-made cloth and nylon bags full of fresh vegetables and fruits. With these vivid memories in mind I set off with my pal N to visit the market.

Getting there by tube was fun and the first glimpse of the market sort of gave me that feeling of a newcomer to a large city, no not of feeling LOST but simply overwhelmed by the sheer variety of goods available,Of course the most beautiful part is the way all the sights and smells make their way into your mind, literally it was my nose leading me to the food !Set in Southwark, one is found staring at the SHARD as soon you exit from the Tube station, towering over the place it is an imposing glass structure.

The market is massive,has a really amazing old world charm thanks to its origin roughly dating back to the 1800’s when it started off as a wholesale market and continues to be,to this date.

Of course, we took a lot of pictures and ate many free samples along the way but the places where I feel silent with admiration were the Fresh Fish counter – for its sheer variety and activity surrounding the stall, the Mushrooms on display-I guess I had never seen so many colourfull, delicate and edible mushrooms in one place before! The Gamston Wood Farm with its exotic meats, yes as exotic as ostrich meat – left me totally speechless but owing to my many food allergies I didn’t experiment, but someday soon I do hope too! I purchased some ripe nectarines, ripe juicy tomatoes, and some crunchy salad leaf bunches.

The Market itself is divided into a few large chunks, we started by walking around the fresh fruit,vegetable and sea food shops, moving onto the inner food court where one find everything from superior Assam tea(which I did buy and got home in a cute brown paper bag and treat myself to some mornings with a generous chunk of ginger and plenty of milk, proper boiled sweet Indian CHAI!) to different varieties of cheese,exotic breads,organic foods,herbs,spices,nuts,dates,desserts sighhhh, then one is led to the many fresh food stalls where one can eat exotic burgers, hot dogs, rolls, pizza or sandwiches,soups,salads almost any imaginable snack packed with fresh meat,cheese and all things divine,I certainly envy all the office goers who can visit this place during lunch hour!Not to be missed are the bakery,patisserie and confectionary stalls, creative, hand-made and exotic all rolled into one, giving into those sweet craving is very easy indeed.Each trader no matter how small the stall exuded passion for their craft.Lot of international foods are available here in this massive expanse of a market each with its own spot under the sun so to speak.

There are many pubs and restaurants in the vicinity which sort of take over when the market itself shuts down for the day.

Simply walking past the fresh oysters and taking in all the gorgeous food aromas wafting around does good for any appetite.Aptly then Borough Market has won ”London Food Market of the Year” 2010 at the London Lifestyle awards.The sea food selection is the best in the city and it is also a great place to buy some amazing wines and spirits, from far-flung places across the globe.

”N” and I got ourselves ” The Spitfire”  and  a ”BBQ Banger” respectively from a friendly fella who happily smiled for my camera! Big Bonus points to him, am definitely going back for more yummy food!The rail-bridge crossing over this part of this market causes a bit of a rattle-shake-shudder when trains pass by overhead.

We took our hot meals wrapped in tissues and sat down in the compound of the Southwark Cathedral with many other and though it was windy we hardly noticed, eating our lunch like hungry school kids with sauce dripping off our face!

We then ate ice cream made from goat’s milk,thick,creamy and delicious are base emotions, it transported me to a green farm far away into the English countryside, I left I was on a patch of land watching women dressed up like village belle of times gone by carrying pails of creamy thick milk and barns full of healthy cows and other animals…. N had to shake me out of my dream world so we could continue browsing;)

Ice cream in hand and after much posing for pictures we strolled to the area with big shops which have been around for many years so much so that they have are food institutions on their own, one of them is Ginger Pig.When one enters the Ginger Pig shop,it’s almost like walking into a museum of oink oink 😉 EVERY possible cut,chop,slice,dip,garnish associated with cooking pork all under one roof – sigh ….

After strolling around some more and drinking in the sites, we decided it was time to leave but not before we spent some time browsing the flower stalls outside and purchased some magic potions from Neal’s Yard and some more relaxing tea for me, which I sampled at their store, it made me all drowsy and calm just what I recommend for a good nights sleep, count more deep sleep zzz’s after drinking this one folk…

Chocolate – the food fit for The God’s especially the one made by Hotel Chocolat‘….. the wooden interiors with the dim lighting and walls filled with chocolates so divine and varied that we just had to go in and have some liquid chocolate, mine was mixed with CHILLI! yes, awesome right? we also got to sample many of the new innovations and sat down on one of the massive wooden benches and sipped our hot chocolate and dreamt of ……well more CHOCOLATE!

Though the weather decided to play spoil sport,nothing could take away the feeling of a day spent pampering my senses….all I wanted to do was go home with my spoils wrapped in crinkly brown paper and sink my teeth into the nectarines and turn the tomatoes into a thick creamy soup.

If I could I would have written a poetry to describe my feelings when I left the market, I wish I could come up with some quotable quote to put all that happens in one’s mind in the market in a nutshell, but really , it wouldn’t suffice, no written word or picture can do justice to the beauty of this vibrant part of London’s heritage and history, treat yourself to a day out Visit Borough Market ….

Visit the official website for updates on opening times, events and news

Hover over each image to view the title.

Browsing around at Angel

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To the bored Londoner, it’s just another tube station but to me it is a beautiful cosy place with a wonderfully modern mall, a very alive and vibrant street market, great restaurants, and plenty for the hungry soul to do, to see, to absorb and soak in and spend a few hours enjoying the best that this place has to offer.

On my recent visit to Angel, I spent time walking around, enjoying the early spring sun, savouring the street food delicacies and discovering the joy of having a lazy cup of tea and an amazing cafe called Euphorium Bakery.

I walked around the street market and ate this awesome falafel wrap, it has the most divine crunchy fried falafel balls ummmmm and very, very tasty aubergines, cauliflower, spicy chilli pickled, fried potato dusted with the most amazing sauce and what not!

If you see the two blokes in the picture, one smiley and one err well Not so smiley ;), you know you are the right place for mind-blowingly tasty falafel wraps!

The street market has a butcher, a fishmonger, several fruit and vegetable vendors, carpet sellers, lingerie stalls, even a  makeup stall! It has all sort of world cuisine on offer, right from the local jacket potatoes and fish and chips to mid-eastern falafels, African jerk chicken, Bangladeshi kebabs, Vietnamese noodles, Thai crispy prawns, and so much more and yes a generous spattering of many pubs and cafes including the famous chains like Starbucks and Costa for the loyal followers.

Though I strongly suggest landing up without having had breakfast , picking up a falafel wrap as an appetiser, then walking around taking in the vibrancy of the place and then eating to your heart’s content at any one of the many food stall, then wandering around the massive mall, indulging in some shopping  , strolling around the quiet by lanes and plonking yourself onto an easy chair in one of the many lovely local cafes and sipping away on your latte’ or Indian chai and relishing an afternoon well spent .

A view of the massive ”Angels’s wings” at the entrance to the Mall and a View of the ” Angel’s Halo” at one of the exits ….

I even managed to get a steal-deal on a book I was looking to buy for some time now from a local charity shop ( I don’t know how she does it – By Alison Pearson, a must read for EVERY woman especially if you thrive on a huge guilt conscience of NOT being able to spare enough time for your family because you have a job that you love and are addicted to !, it’s a bible for one of my closest female buddies P)

A view of a beautiful flower shop located close to the bakery.

A little rain while I was safely tucked inside the cafe dropped the temperature by a few degrees and ensured I left to get home just in time to make hubbykins a steaming hot cuppa and share a long conversation about how I spent a lovely day out.

I also discovered a wonderful Fruit called Longan, it’s like litchi in the texture of the skin and the soft watery succulently fresh white fruit hidden inside but with a twist in the form of a sugary sweet caffeine kick concealed in the fruit that explodes with every bite that you take. I managed to gobble quite a large number of them, reluctantly sharing them with my better half 🙂

This is an image of the fruit, that what remains of the LARGE bag I got home I know, I know greedy me!

I have posted some pictures below of the fruit, it’s delicate skin that can easily be peeled off and globular succulent fruit inside.

In India there is a version of this fruit called Litchi or Lychee, it has bright red or dull brown skin, and the appearance of the fruit inside looks very similar to the Longan. Lychees are more oval in shape though and very different but equally delicious and sweet to taste and also are very succulent, every bite releases a delicious sticky liquid ummmm.

Some images of the Litchi or Lychee I got off the net :

It’s at times like this that I imagine how much of effort God put into creating this planet and all that is there on the planet , it is such small everyday pleasures that make me smile.

To those whose mouth is watering after seeing those images please head to China Town or any proper Chinese shop in London and ask for Longan . If you love them as much as I did , write back to me !Please !

I have posted a few images of my day out below, hope you enjoy seeing them. Oh yes, How can I forget the highlight of the day ?! I touched a LIVE snake and that too a BOA CONSTRICTOR (screaammmmmmm EEEEEEECHHHHH,yelll, shiver shudder shake shake ..none of that happened, even little kids were touching the slippery guy who seemed to be basking in the glory of so many curious human eyes set on him !), it is called a Common Boa Constrictor and inhabits rainforests, the other two animals I saw were an African spurred tortoise and a lizard which I think is the Bearded Dragon, a word of praise here for the handlers of these animals who work with a company called the Zoofari.

These handlers were gentle with the animals , very knowledgebale and great with kids too, they also ensured each and every fascinated child and adult got a blob of hand sanitiser after they touched the animals. Kudos to them ! Good work guys and I loved the concept of a mobile zoo and how they raise funds for wildlife ,a very noble thought and deed ..Indeed 🙂

The Zoofari Van :

The crowd around the display area :

Say hello to the Turtle , it’s quite massive isn’t it ??

And now the BOA…….

Ok that was me hesitating and touching the snake after all, so scale-eee , err never mind !

Well After those animals , feats your eyes on some images of the awesome Euphorium Bakery .

And just as I had left the area the taste of chai still lingering in my mouth, I was offered a free sample of the New Almond Latte at Starbucks, worth a try I say!

I managed to stuff my camera back into my bag and dragged my exteremly drowsy self to the tube station , but had to click this last one snap as I laughed aloud and people around gave me the look as if to say ”Crazy woman laughing all alone ..grumphfh ” well you would smirk too after seeing it wouldn’t you ??

Hahaha a quirky laugh at the end of a fab day, all I needed to inspire me to get blogging again!

Goda Sheera (Sooji Halwa in Hindi, Prasadacha Sheera for Satyanarayan Pooja)

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I have been planning for ages to make some Goda sheera (goda =sweet in Marathi , my mother tongue and sheera stands for a sweet preparation made using Semolina as the primary ingredient ). I wanted to prepare this for Holi but was too lazy to do it but on Gudi Padwa, which is the Maharashtrian New year, I decided to be a good girl and prepare this sweet dish and offer it to my favourite god Ganpati Bappa:)

I love using milk and mashed bananas as it reminds me of the way my elder Sister prepares it and also of the many Satyanarayan Pooja Prasad (Prasad = offering made to god in the form of food etc) that I have greedily gobbled up all my life back home in India. My mother though prefers to prepare this dish using a mixture of sugar dissolved in water to add a sweet taste. Any way you choose to prepare it, I assure you it is a hugely satisfying experience preparing it  and gobbling it afterwards 🙂

It would be unfair to throw Indian terms at my non Indian readers so , Gudi Padwa is a festival wherein we Maharashtrians celebrate the end of the harvest season and welcome a brand new year with the Hindu Calender. Satanarayan Pooja is a Hindu ritual of worship performed to celebrate new beginnings like a wedding, a housewarming or during the annual Ganesh Festival. It requires the Man and the Lady of the house to perform an elaborate offering to god and the beautiful part of the pooja or the ritual is the Katha (Katha simply means story in Marathi) as it takes the listener on a journey through tales that define our religion. The ultimate offering of love for god at the end of this ritual is called a Prasad and is almost always Sheera. Please click on the hyperlinks to enjoy reading in detail about the terms used. I thank all contributors to Wikipedia for providing such useful and beautifully written information. Oh yes, and the most fun part of Gudi Padwa is the Gudi, it is basically a long stick covered in shiny wrapping paper and a decorative piece of cloth is placed on the top and an inverted ”gadoo” or a stainless glass of a particular shape is placed over it or a brass container which is used for poojas and is again a very auspicious piece of the ritual. The swastika symbol is made on it using bright red kumkum, then this is wrapped with a garland of fresh marigolds and bright green leaves of the mango tree and also a garland made from ” Batashe” which is a white leaf-like thing made from concentrated sugar syrup and strung onto a string and made into a garland. This is then perched on the balcony and worshipped and kept on display for all to see, it is quite a sight to see colourful ”gudi’s” swaying outside everyone’s windows and balconies.

I had to make mine this year using an unused shower curtain rod, golden wrapping paper recycled from Christmas, a steel bowl instead of the traditional glass and a bright red stole instead of the usual auspicious colours of green or gold! Anyway, this is what it looked like :), am quite proud of it really!

Below I have chosen 2 images from google that I feel are really good and stunningly clear images and really capture the spirit of the festival, the first of a couple dressed all traditionally and with the beautiful Gudi being worshipped using a well-decorated thali (plate containing several items for performing the ritual) and the second image is of the sexy Ms Isha Koppikar looking like a million bucks and the Gudi looks lovely as well!

Pic 1: Image courtesy iDiva dot com

Pic 2: Image Courtesy Click here

Ok ! so now, let me try to put down here the recipe in a simple and easy-peasy manner.

Preparation time: Approx 45 minutes Serves:4

Ingredients :

  1. Semolina /Rava/Suji – I use fine rava as it is what I find is best for this recipe. approximately 2 small watis or ramekins.
  2. Ghee – plenty!
  3. Raisins – a handful
  4. Badam/Almonds – again a handful
  5. Saffron/Kesar/Zafran – a small pinch just to add colour and pomp!
  6. Cashewneuts/Kaju/Kajoo – if you like them, not necessary) – a generous handful without the peel and unsalted.
  7. Milk about 200 ml
  8. One ripe Banana
  9. Elaichi/ Green Cardamom – about 6-8 – open them and crush the brown seeds to make a powder using a mortar pestle we will also use the green outer cover to add a distinctive aroma to the recipe :), sounds so romantic doesn’t it ( err well …)
  10. Sugar – I use granulated white sugar, and take 2 – 2.5 measures of a small bowl, actually, the proportion is always 2:1 for the Semolina: Sugar for this dish so choose the quantity accordingly.

Method :

  • Boil some water and add into a small bowl, add the almonds, this will make it easy to peel off the skin. Soak some raisins in lukewarm water so that they absorb water and can be dunked into the semolina at a later stage.
  • Add the Saffron strands ever so carefully to a small bowl of water so as to allow the beautiful golden orange colour to disperse into the water.
  • Take 2 bowl fulls of Semolina and add to a pan and constantly stir it until it turns a light brown colour, if you do not keep stirring or put the pan on a very high flame it might burn and we don’t want that do we? Also, I use a rather heavy bottom pan to ensure that the heat spreads evenly and that the Semolina browns well.
  • This is how it looks before we brown it :
  • This is how it will look after stirring for a while :
  • This is how it will look when it is done and ready for the next stage,i.e to be added to the ghee:
  • Remove the pan from the flame and keep the Semolina aside .Now take 2-4 large tablespoons of ghee (Clarified Butter) in a vessel and warm it on a low flame, be very carefull when frying with ghee as GHEE heats up very fast and anything unattended inside the hot ghee can char easily. When the ghee is warming up add the cashew nuts first and wait for them to start browning, then add the remaining raisins – not the ones which are kept soaking in water ! The strong aroma of the warm Semolina , the beautiful smell of desi ghee and the in-your-face tasty aroma of the fried cashews will assault your senses in the most pleasant way and fill up your kitchen with an almost auspicious atmosphere, it’s when this happens that one truly feels festive from within and it is also at such moments I have massive nostalgia attacks and realise how deeply coded our childhood memories are and  how much a part of our memories are made up of familiar sights and sounds. I oftentimes find life in the western world paler, less colourful and too quite compared to the pomp , blast of colours and festivity that make up India …sighhhh !
  • The cashew nuts and raisins turn a golden hue as seen in the picture above and the raisins puff up quite a bit due to the heat of the ghee,be careful not to overdo the raisins as they are akin to tiny missiles filled with boiling hot oil and if they burst , you can get serious burns …booooo! The kitchen is quite a dangerous place for the uninitiated isn’t it ?!
  • Ok, while the cashew nuts are being processed , take a small vessel and add the 200 to 250 ml milk on a low flame, add the sugar and dissolve, stirring till it completely dissolves, do not allow the milk to boil but reduce it on a low flame, add the crushed green cardamom powder and the outer green cover. Add some of the saffron and the water in which it was soaked as well, keep some for adding into the mixture later. When this mixture is on the flame , it gives out an unmistakable aroma of sweet sugary milk and I can almost feel my teeth sink into the soft sheera and mentally I am biting into the fried cashews and the yummee soft Banana bits that play hide and seek with my tongue as I devour the sheera – AAHHH , anyway , don’t allow that to happen as it is considered wrong to savor the ”Prasad” before the Almighty is offered some for ”bhog” or in simple words god has been offered the sweet dish and it is assumed that he has symbolically consumed our offering and blessed us with all that we wish and desire for 🙂
  • When the cashew nuts and the raisins have been fried, add the semolina slowly in the hot ghee mixture, stirring continuously to prevent any lumps from forming and also to ensure that the semolina soaks up the ghee properly.
  • Once all the Semolina is mixed well into the ghee and fried dry fruit mix it will look like the picture above, then add the remaining saffron and water in which it was soaked to the mixture.
  • Then add the roughly mashed banana pieces to the semolina mixture.
  • When the sugar has completely dissolved and the milk has reduced a little, it is ready to be added to the semolina mixture. Add it stirring slowly, it will look like the picture below immediately after adding the milk and sugar into it.
  • Stir a bit more and here is what it will look like now:
  • For the smallest possible time , cover the mixture above on the lowest possible flame , it is then ready to be served, now add the almonds to season over the top , peel off the skin , thanks to the warm water they will come off very easily and then just halve the almonds or if you want to be very artistic and have some time cut the almonds into longish thin strips ,anyway which they add a definite crunch to the sweet dish and I love that ,you dish will now look like this :
  • Take some of this beautiful dish and serve into a small bowl to offer to the Ganpati Bappa – who has been made to shine and sparkle for the day and place it in front of him , hands folded ask for his blessings and wait for sometime till you are convinced he’s had some of the offering or ”Prasad”.

Aaah , now just look at the cute Bappa 🙂

HAPPY EATING ALL YE READERS who attempt to make it, do let me know any feedback 🙂 all good of course 😉

Learn how to cook western coastal Indian cuisine from the C.K.P community with my easy-to-follow recipes.

Find below a list of Indian recipes on my blog, some traditional, some fusion, and many regional favourites!

Portobello Market

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A bazaar or a street market , now coming from India the mention of the word market or bazaar brings to mind vibrant colours, streets buzzing with activity , bustling with stalls selling everything from old forgotten door handles to tasty street food , well my First visit to Portobello market was all of this and more . It starts of as a tiny lane snuggled between urban landscape and then as you start to walk along the street there is an explosion of colour , vibrancy and goods for as far as the eye can see !

I started my journey by clicking a few pictures with some rather naughty catch phrases printed on rusting old metal signage boards , silently guffawing I choose one mentally as my profile picture for Facebook – such is the dominant position that FB occupies in my mind , it always seems to crop up into my thoughts at all possible opportunities 😉

In the picture above I wonder how the 2012 Olympics could be already a rusty “OLD”piece ?!humm;)

Then there is the Official Street sign proclaiming that Portobello Road officically begins somewhere close to the signboard shop.

I particularly liked the many shops that packed choc-a-bloc with such pretty jewellery right from exotic earrings to the most wonderfully colorfull bead necklaces that every possible visual stimuli that can awaken my brain was at work , there is just so much to amass that it left me bedazzled !

What one expect is to find some really good deals on “Vintage” products like really pretty tea cups or cake stands, door knobs, furniture even .

This one particular shop was rather interesting !

Turns out its not just the shops that were colourfull really !

I was most delighted to these a shop selling the most quaint little miniatures of a cake shop complete with all sort of yummy looking pastries not bigger than a tiny petal if kept on your finger tip! There were also intricate miniatures of violins in cases and a zillion other things.

It also has a rather massive All Saints store with their trademark window display of all singer sewing machines and what an apt fit for Portobello Market I’d say, a Vintage window display concept for a market selling all these delightful Vintage nick knacks!

I wonder who conceptualised this display; they sure did manage to procure all possible old singer sewing machines out there didn’t they?!

There’s literally HUNDREDS of the machines lining every inch of their window space in every STORE and I believe now all across the Globe in most of their outlets , now THAT really is something!

A few steps of walking ahead and there was this brilliant balcony full of the most brilliant potted plants, someone certainly does have a green thumb I’d say , what a pretty sight to see so very SPRING like .

Now as one moves past the shops selling handbags, clothing, old furniture, tea sets ,door handles ,footwear , photo frames etc etc etc there is a new set of shops that takes over with fresh fruits and vegetables being sold on street stalls , fresh flowers, mobile food vans selling everything from wraps and burgers to salads and desserts .

There are a few street vendors selling some funky fashion jewellery as well.

There’s a section of the street market that was kind of empty and not as full with street stalls as expected, there’s probably some days in the week when the market is not fully operational. But there is a massive mall with many shops inside, but my rumbling tummy didn’t permit me to enter so I just took some shots of these huge arches outside.

It’s then that I saw this board and promised to return when the Farmers Market was open, sadly haven’t yet gotten around to doing that really.

As the Poster says am sure a market so vibrant does really have a SPACE for everyone !

The last few shops and a spattering of colourfull cafes and an ATM outside a party shop caught my eye.

Then I finally gave in to my tummy’s request and tucked into some yummy pub food and washed it down with a chilled beer.

What a beautiful day Indeed!

A few handy tips if you do plan a visit to Portobello Market :

  • If your going on a Thursday,it  is not a good choice as the market shuts down shortly after noon and not all the street shops are up anyway.
  • Carry a bottle of water it’s a thirsty walk especially in the summer.
  • It’s a short walk when one exits from the Notting Hill Gate Tube station.
  • Make a mental note of the loos that are around by reading the info in the link below ,it’s important !

There is a website offering a wealth of info about the Market on http://www.portobellomarket.org/. I especially liked the detailed way in which they have listed places to run if your bladder is about to burst , mine was and I almost died when the public self cleaning toilet door swung open as it was in a disastrous condition sadly !So one of the pubs it was then , what a relief !

P.S: All Images used in this article are clicked by me so if you do resuse them kindly give me due credit !

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